The Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has in the last days taken over the role of mediator between Greece and the other capitals, but Commissioners would not comment on that.
Answering questions from the press on Wednesday 18 February, theEC vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said that“The most realistic way forward, concerning the resolution of the Greek debt crisis, is an extension of the current program. Of course, it means respecting the current commitments, while at the same time allowing some flexibility. For example: if the Greek authorities want to replace some measures in the current program with measures of equal fiscal value, that can certainly be looked into and discussed. The most important is that an extension takes place, in order to allow more time for negotiations between Greece and the Eurogroup.”
This was a step back to the Monday night imbroglio, when, during the Eurogroup meeting, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis refused to sign a last minutedocument that had surreptitiously replaced an earlier one that he had agreed on.
Varoufakis told the press that earlier he had been shown a document byFinancial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, a document that "recognised the humanitarian crisis that Greece was going to", and in which Athens was offered a four-months transition program. During these four months, that is until August, Greece would not have to apply austerity measure, like cutting pensions. Also during these months, discussions would take place would the creditors in order to replace the program.
“That splendid document”, Varoufakis said on Monday, about the one that he had been shown earlier before being asked to sign a different one, “was taken back by the Europgroup president (Dijsselbloem), who offered only nebulous words about "some flexibility" in the future, but without being able to explain what that "flexibility" would be.”
It appears that even today, while waiting for a new proposal from Athens, Commission officials have still no more to offer than the promise of “some flexibility”.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/commission-sticks-mantra-%E2%80%9Ccurrent-program%E2%80%9D-greece